Evelyn's Travels
by nimKypto
Summary: Up until her 21st Halloween, Evelyn had thought she was average, but when an old family heirloom shape-shifts her world into something even she couldn't imagine, Evelyn learns she and her family are anything but average. Now Evelyn must learn to adapt to the world and life she is supposed to live, which might be acceptable if it weren't for a certain pretty boy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is the beginning of an idea I had and hopefully will be able to continue. Hope you like it, and comment if you would like to!**

 **Quick Note: All the dialog that is italicized is said in Japanese. I don't know the language and I wanted anyone else who doesn't know it to be able to read it as well, and so I figured this was a good compromise. :)**

* * *

Halloween.

Everywhere you looked in the sweltering open-air mall there were people scrambling to get costumes or candy, sometimes both, and because my best friend had insisted on going to a party that night and dragging me along to be her designated driver, I had to be one of them.

"Ev, we need to hurry or they'll close!"

"It's Halloween. What store in their right mind will close before 22:00? We'll get there and still have plenty of time to find a costume for you."

"22:00? And don't forget, you're getting one, too."

"22:00 is 10pm." I chose not to say anything about the costume part. When Abbey made her mind up about something nothing could stop her, and besides, I liked dressing up for Halloween.

"Why couldn't you just say 10 instead of that 22 madness?"

"Because the entire world minus the United Sta—"

"There it is! C'mon, or we're going to be late!" Abbey grabbed my hand and practically flew to the main doors with me in tow.

"Late for what, exactly? They're still open."

I got my answer when we stepped inside. The place was _packed_ and I don't mean like stores-on-Christmas-eve packed; I mean Black Friday packed. It was a wonder so many people could fit in this place, and I silently wondered if the store had already gone over its maximum capacity because there was no way that this many people couldn't be a fire hazard.

Abbey had already disappeared into the fray but knowing her she would resurface soon with at least two costumes, asking which would look best and answering before I could. In the meantime I could probably start looking around and search for something to wear tonight, which actually proved harder than I thought. Weaving through the amount of people was difficult enough, but finding a costume that looked comfortable to wear and had my size was a whole other matter. Seriously, did any of these costumes come in a size other than 0 or extra-small?!

After about 20 minutes and two Abbey costume-checks later, I found something that might have potential. It was a long, hooded cloak that stopped just above my ankles. The only color left was black but I didn't really mind; it would just allow me to blend into the background at the party, which was always a bonus. The parties Abbey took me to were loud and the people were the type to ask why I wasn't drinking and shove a glass of alcohol into my hand in the same breath. They were nice, just forceful, and that wasn't something I wanted to deal with tonight. I looked at the cloak again. It'll work, so now for something to wear under it…

* * *

By the time we had both left the store and made it to the party in question, everything was in full swing – music blared, people crowded, and some were already beyond drunk as they attempted to dance in the foyer. In record time Abbey was cutting through the crowd to the kitchen and drinks, successfully leaving me behind again. But unlike at the store, things here weren't nearly as crowded, so following her wasn't that difficult. Still I decided to make my way to the backyard and wait for my best friend there. We always met up in the back of wherever we were, so I knew she'd eventually find her way over, meaning I could just sit there, wait for her, and watch the other party-goers walk by. I had barely made it to an open spot and sat down, though, when I felt someone sit down next to me.

"Wow, Abbey. That was fast."

"Sorry to disappoint, but um, I'm not Abbey. I can do some good impressions of people if you did want to talk to her," a light tenor spoke up.

I turned to find a lanky, brown-eyed boy with patches of fur glued to his face and arms leaning back on his hands, one of which he promptly held out to me when he realized I had started to stare. "The name's Mike."

"Evelyn," I laughed and extended my own hand, which he quickly turned over to kiss. In slight shock, I stammered out my next sentence, "S-sorry, I thought you were my friend."

He seemed pleased. "I thought as much, milady. Either that or you were looking for a sister nun, and if that were the case, you would be in the wrong place at a most inconvenient time."

"What's with the milady?"

"Your name sounds like medieval noblewoman, so I thought it fit, though your costume makes you seem more like a traveling magician than an old-fashioned noble."

I looked down and nodded. With my black cloak, crystal necklace and plain pants and shirt, I did look more like a medieval wizard on the road. "We ended up shopping last minute and this is the best I could find."

"Where'd you find the necklace?"

"That's actually a family heirloom of sorts – one I got for my birthday. I figured I could put it to some use since it probably hasn't seen the light of day in years."

"You mean the light of the moon," Mike pointing at the full moon above. "The only way that pretty thing is going to see the light of day again is if you stay up all night, and I think the party's supposed to end before that." He paused before continuing, "It is pretty, though. I can see why your family kept it all these years."

"I guess. My grandmother had it when she came here and passed it onto my mom before leaving. It was my mom that then passed it down to me when I was seven, saying that I should be careful when wearing it. I suppose that means I'm not allowed to drop it into my drink." I looked over at Mike and noticed his eyes glazing over. Great. There was an awkward moment before I decided to change the topic to something safer. "So what are you?"

It worked, and he snapped back to reality, laughing, "Can't you tell? I'm a werewolf. I'm supposed to be, anyway."

"Well, it works."

"Hey, Mike," we both turned to see a zombie hanging out one of the first floor windows, "come over here and check this out! They even decorated the indoor pool!"

"And that's my cue – guess I'll see you around. And good luck finding your friend." Without waiting for an answer Mike pulled himself up from the ground and started to lazily walk back towards the house.

As I watched him go, a dim, silver light caught my eye. Looking over I saw that the brick wall separating this yard from the next now had an ancient-looking door at the far corner. The frame was giving off the soft and silvery glow, but what was more shocking was my necklace's response. As the door's light grew brighter, the necklace grew heavier and began to shine the same shade of silver as the doorframe. I looked down to see it rise up from my collar, still glowing. It hovered for what seem like forever, then as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.

My necklace dimmed and returned to its position hanging around my neck and that's when I noticed I had somehow moved to stand in front of the strange door. How I got there I wasn't sure, but my hand was resting on the handle, which was surprisingly ice cold. Without any guidance at all, my hand twisted the door's handle and the door itself swung forward, revealing a black hole on the other side. I looked back at the house party; it seemed everyone had gone back inside for the back yard had become only a dump for unwanted cups and other trash. My necklace grew heavy again and surged forward, and I was pulled through the door.

* * *

The black hole lasted less than a second, and when the world became clear again I realized the moon was still high and full. But instead of being in the neighbor's yard, I was surrounded by tall trees with no path or person in sight. At least that was what I though until a branch cracked above me. Looking up, I saw five pairs of eyes staring back at me, and after only a moment of eye-contact one pair leapt down into the shadows on my right.

As it stepped into the moonlight my own eyes widened in shock. It was a salamander the size of a basketball player in their prime and walked on two legs like any human would. The most eerie part though, was how its eyes that faced forward and kept contact with mine, cementing my feet into the ground.

'Only predators have eyes facing forward,' a voice in my mind whispered, 'because they need to see their prey when they chase it.'

The weird lizard-man stopped when it was less than an arm's reach away and, without breaking eye-contact, spoke to those still in the tree. " _She's small._ "

" _She'll have to do though_ ," hissed a voice from above. " _We haven't had a human soul, let alone a human woman's soul, in days._ "

A smaller frog-man leapt from the tree this time and the lizard-man glanced over, allowing me to look from one speaker to the other in confusion. The frog-man spoke in his own cracked voice, " _Then it's decided_."

Suddenly the lizard-man grabbed my arm – his grip tight – as the frog-man walked back a few steps before turning to face me again. When he was ready, the frog-man opened his mouth wide and to my growing horror what looked like a giant soap bubble came out and started floating right towards me. It took only a moment of watching what I was sure was my own doom approaching before I reacted, but then I twisted my arm around the outside of the lizard-man's and push down until he had to let go. Then, with all my strength, I push him into oncoming bubble before spinning on my heel and running away as fast as I could.

I could hear the lizard-man shouting what must have been muffled curses back in the clearing, but it seems his companions were too busy chasing me to help him because I could hear them crashing through the brush behind me. It didn't take long for my legs to start burning and my lungs to start heaving. I was no Olympic runner and, unfortunately for me, the strange things now chasing after me were showing no signs of tiring. They were even gaining on me and their footfalls were becoming louder until I could have sworn they were right behind me. My side cramped and I whipped my head left and right and left again, searching for some small place to hide, but I could find nothing but the same ominous trees for miles and miles. Glancing back forward I saw the trees seemed to form a wall of sorts up ahead and immediately in front of me was a small gap between two of the trunks. I thanked my lucky stars and tried to run just a little faster. I was almost there when I heard the footsteps now directly behind me slow, and it wasn't until after I leapt through the crack that I saw why.

I had just jumped off a cliff.

The last thing I remember seeing was the water rushing up to meet me.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone, I back!

Quick Note: Now that Evelyn is in Japan, the languages are switched! So the non-italicized words are Japanese, and the _italicized_ words are English. From now on that is how it shall be.

* * *

Chapter 2

The first thing I thought when I woke up was a complaint about my head. It _hurt_ , and the fact that I could hear everything in the room didn't help. There was a fly landing on the sill to my left, a bird glided on air currents high above, its heart and wing beats relaxed and methodical. The air itself was crowded with noises like these, and they all sounded like they were coming in through a personal set of headphones, even though I could tell that many were at least a half-mile away. What made it worse, however, was all of the noise made in what should have been cracks of silence. Those were filled by voices from all around whose sound dwarfed the buzzing nature's everyday life.

It was only then that the shock of it all hit me. What? I could actually hear everything. Someone a couple dozen yards away just spilled something that sounded strangely like water. I'm sure they weren't going to be happy about that, and sure enough I hadn't even finished the thought when I heard the sharp rebuff lash out through the air. It was strange; I couldn't understand what the man had said but I knew from his tone he was upset about the water - more than a little angry, actually. It took a minute, but I focused on the language used. His words were clipped and rough with emotion but it seemed a little like Japanese. I had watched enough of anime to know what the language sounded like, even if I didn't speak it.

I breathed out and took stock of my current situation. I was in a strange place filled with even stranger looking things - remembering the lizard-man and his friends made me shudder a little - and the common language seems to be Japanese. It looked like I was about to learn a new language, or at least part of one until I could find my way back home. Getting home would be the hard part, though. Somehow I got here through that weird silver door and my necklace, and I had a nagging suspicion that my necklace had caused the door to appear. It was what pulled me in after all. So my best bet would be to probably find someone who knows about magic necklaces, and that thought made me sigh. I'm sure there one of those on every block, which means this was going to be harder than finding that last item in one of those 'I Spy' books.

A noise closer than any of the others shattered through my concentration and all of the sounds I had pushed back while thinking came full force again. I gritted my teeth, silently cursing whoever made that stupid sound and the god of headaches, when I realized that in paying attention to all the other ambient noise I had failed to hear the hushed chaos that was happening only a few feet away.

"What'll we do now? We cannot keep that thing here; it'll kill us all!"

"You've already said that, ma, and you've been saying it since sunrise."

"You shouldn't have brought it back!"

"She was in human form and half-drowned when I brought her back! How was I supposed to know what she was? I only thought she was a poor lass that could use some help."

"That must've been her ploy. It's the only way she could have sneaked into town without arousing suspicion. And now that she's here, she'll kill us all!"

"I told you you've already said tha-"

"Quiet, the both of you. With the two of you making the ruckus that you are, she may already have woken."

Whatever the last voice had said shut the others up quickly, and any noise they had been making paused. Maybe they realized they were too loud and that I might have woken up because of it. That's awful nice of them. Making a mental note to thank them later, I opened my eyes to find myself in a brightly lit room. From the looks of the things around me, I had not only traveled through dimensions but time as well. Everything in the room was made of wood and I found myself lying on the floor on some sort of makeshift bed made out of a cloth and some hay. The voices, I decided, must have been coming from from the next room, and when I sat up making the hay crackle a bit, they started up again with a higher pitch and intensity.

"See. You woke her up!"

"She's awake? This is bad. We're all dead!"

"What are we going to do?"

The younger man's question (I'm assuming it was a question) was answered by a soft thud and a brief moment of silence.

"You can't be serious. Doing that will be a death sentence."

"We've no choice."

"That's right, and since you brought her here, you can take care of her."

There were faint murmurs and shuffling before the curtain covering the doorway was pushed over to the side, revealing a young man wide eyes. He seemed terrified of something, so I thought that if I smiled he would be more at ease.

When I did, he visibly flinched and held a knife out in front of him, back up against the far wall. That's odd. I didn't think I was that frightening, maybe he's just confusing me for someone else.

" _You do realize you're holding that knife upside down, right?_ " It probably wasn't the wisest thing up say at that moment, but there was no way he would understand and I figured the easiest way to calm him was to to sound reassuring. I stood up slowly with my hands the don't shoot position, keeping my voice calm and soothing. " _I think you've mistaken me for someone. I just arrived here for reasons unknown and have had a pretty terrified time myself. Maybe we can work this out and find a way to communicate?_ "

Unfortunately for me this seemed to only terrify him more, and as I got closer his fight or flight response kicked in.

"Don't come near me, you halfbreed!" With a shout, he swung the knife through the air, eyes shut and aiming for my head. For all of his panic induced actions, however, he seemed to be moving rather slow, so it was easy for me to sidestep him and send him crashing into the bed of hay. That looked like it hurt.

While I was focused on the bed, I heard a sharp clack behind me and spun to see an older guy standing in in the doorway with a bow and arrow already aimed straight at me, and because I was me, I just stared like a deer in the headlights of a moving car. It didn't click in my head why he had it until he loosed the arrow and my body acted on instinct. Dropping to the ground I felt a burn on the tip of my ear as the arrow torn through the edge, flipping me onto my back with its force. Note to self: never get shot at close range because it hurts like a bitch.

What the hit gave me though was a bit of hope and and a chance of salvation. It had landed into the side of an open window and with that I could have leapt for joy. A window meant freedom and freedom meant not getting shot at, which was at the top of my priorities right now. As the old man drew back a second arrow I leapt and dove straight through to the outside.

Thankfully the house was next to the forest, so it didn't take more than a few seconds to start dodging between the trees until the sounds of the crazy village were far behind me. Out of breath I fell to my hands and knees, panting. After a few minutes I had calmed down enough to notice I was by a small lake. The water looked alright to drink and I was really, really thirsty - and hungry too, now that I had stopped to think about it.

I leaned over the surface to cup some water in my hands when I noticed my reflection, or at least what I assumed was my reflection. My hair had turned from blonde to a silver/grey color and my eyes, though still blue, had slits for pupils. With my mouth now open in shock, I noticed I had a mouth full of fangs. Well, now I know why my smile seemed to only scare that boy more, maybe if I smiled without showing teeth, it wouldn't be so scary next time. I practiced a few times with my reflection and found that not showing my teeth was difficult, but that would be something to work on then. The biggest change though was the huge grey cat ears sitting atop my head, one of which had a tear to one side.

Cat ears...

I took a drink of water before standing. I could leap pretty far if I tried - I had proven that by practically flying through that window, so if I was now part cat, didn't that mean I also have claws? Those could definitely come in handy, but as I looked looked at my hands I didn't see any. It was disappointing until I remembered cat's claws were retractable. Concentrating hard I was rewarded when I felt my nails grow into full claws. So if I'm part cat, have ears and claws, does that mean I also have...I pulled back my cloak to reveal - a tail! I reached back and touched it. Yep, it's official. This was the best day ever.

"It seems we've found a lonesome halfbreed."

"True. Perhaps we can make up for losing that girl last night by devouring this one."

The Japanese startled me into looking up and noticing that I was surrounded by the lizard-man and his friends once again. I really needed to start paying more attention to my immediate surroundings, for I see a pattern of distraction via shiny objects, and apparently having awesome hearing skills did not automatically make you a super-radar.

But unlike the last time we met, I wasn't as vulnerable this time around, unfortunately for them. The moment before they charged, I jumped straight up. Sometimes the oldest trick in the book works best, and it's especially so when you pull that trick right below a tree branch. From the branch I saw them begin to fight amongst themselves and smiled, teeth bared. That was easier than I thought it would be. I jumped down and landed beside them, still grinning in amusement when on let out a screech of pain louder than normal and took off through the trees.

The rest just stared after their friend before looking at the source of his pain. I heard their hearts start to speed in fear until they too took off into the underbrush, leaving me alone with a man I could only describe as beautiful. He had serious golden eyes and a king's bearing and a really big, fluffy tail I wanted to touch. I was going to ask if I could or just say hi when I remembered he wouldn't understand me. Damn to hell all language barriers, he was cute, too!

He stepped closer and I was struck again by his appearance, though sadly it was marred by a smell I couldn't quite place but for sure was _not_ fond of. When we had come within feet of each other he stopped, eyes glaring into mine.

"Move."

Someone may as well have dumped me in ice water. I didn't know what he had just said but his dismissive tone was enough. I guessed he wanted me to get out of his way, so I met his glare with my own.

" _Make me move, pretty boy_ ," I snarled. And before I could blink he had thrown me into the pond, which might I say was very very very cold.

I surfaced and clawed my way to the shore, and when I made it out of the water I turned to give that jerk a piece of my mind only to find him walking away as if nothing had happened. That was it - this piece of smelly trash had declared war, and I was going to oblige. I looked back at the shore and smiled. This would be a great way to get my revenge and win the first battle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long update...I'm trying to write two different stories at once, so it's writing a chapter for one story, writing a chapter for the other story and repeat - keeps me busy! Hope you enjoy**

 **Also quick note again: Italicized speech is in English, non-italicized speech is in Japanese and italicized words not surrounded by quote are thoughts. :)**

Chapter 3

I was enraged.

Not much can push myself past frustration, which was always something I took great pride in, but this insignificant, lowly, half-bred _thing_ broke through whatever defenses I had carefully constructed with decades of practice. Had her offense been aimed at someone besides myself, I would have been impressed with her ability - however crude her means may have been. But that was not the case. Weeks from now I will most likely still be finding stray flakes of mud in my hair, and that alongside the cat half breed's audacity to shame one such as myself made the offense intolerable.

I had decided upon first meeting her that I would be lenient and allow her to step aside instead of cutting her down, but her tone of voice when she answered in that strange language of hers made it clear she had no intention of returning the politeness. Since I was in a hurry to return to the council, I had simply tossed her aside and moved on my way and that was when….How dare she! How dare that vile, low-born- an instantly recognizable presence appeared to my right as I entered the clan's main gates, effectively silencing my inner rant.

"You seem to be in a foul mood, Sesshomaru. Did you know you have mud in your hair?" I was sure my father's voice had echoed loud enough for the whole clan to hear, though he had not talked any louder than his usual timber. I felt my eyes begin to bleed red as I ignored my alpha and stalked away to clean the mud I had apparently missed earlier, my father's amused eyes and chuckles chasing me as I went. That was it - the last straw. This Sesshomaru has been shamed and although I originally would have thought such a petty war beneath me, there was no longer a choice in the matter. That half breed had better hope never to meet myself again, because the next time we meet, she will die.

* * *

It was perfect, and I couldn't have been more proud of myself. As I sat, dripping wet, along the pond's bank and stared down at my hands, I realized that mud was going to get (and probably already had gotten, let's be honest) all over my clothes; it was going to be a real pain to get out. That's when it hit me - the perfect revenge. Before I could think it over too much and stop myself, I had a big, sticky mudball scooped up and stood about 15 feet from my target, leaving plenty of get-away space. And when the shot was lined up perfectly I let the mudball fly and hit that oversized, pompous jerk right in the back of the head.

I smirked to myself, remembering the look on his face when he had turned around. The move was petty and stupid, sure, but it was the one thing he probably wasn't expecting, so I had enough time to bask in his look of shocked loathing before sprinting off through the trees, hoping he wouldn't give chase. He ended up not - perhaps he had some pressing engagement - which left me running through the trees laughing like some deranged hyena. By the time I had calmed down enough to stop running to catch my breath, I realized I had no clue about where I was, though I really didn't have much of a clue before I had run anyway. I was rather hungry, though.

As if cued my stomach growled and I was left looking around for something that seemed edible. This is when I should have paid more attention when my grandma would talk to me about how to survive if ever I had to fend for myself. I never liked camping so I had never really listened, but now as I looked at all the identical bushes and trees I wish that I had actually listened. Sighing I began to trudge forward in hopes of finding a plant I could actually recognize when the sound of running water caught my attention. At first I paid it no mind and continued walking, but then I heard a faint splash. Forgetting about greens around me I dodged around trees, hoping that I had heard what I thought I did, and when I found the smallish stream my stomach started doing flips for there amongst the shallows lazed the biggest, most delicious-looking fish I had ever laid eyes on.

Without pausing to think I acted on instinct, falling into a four legged crouch, ears locked onto my new prey and tail swishing like mad in anticipation. I carefully stalked the unsuspecting pike, making sure to maneuver myself behind so as to not give away my intentions. I was almost upon it when it noticed the danger and made to swim away, only to be caught in a clawed hand that moved too fast for it.

I pulled my fist out of the water, satisfied and impressed with my catch. It wasn't until I took a closer look at my prize that I noticed my clawed fingers had pierced straight through, destroying some of the fish's meat in the process. I shrugged it off - I guess I was stronger than I thought. Facing the trees, a thought ran through my mind. Now that I had some food I would have to figure out how to cook it. _I wonder if I could just eat it raw...cats do that, right?_ Looking close at a piece of fish meat stuck to my claw, I hesitantly nibbled it and swallowed. Everything seemed alright at first and I started to consider another bite when my gut twisted and bile rose in my throat. This was not a good idea. My stomach heaved and I fell to my knees, trying to hack up the piece I had swallowed. After a good few minutes of coughing I felt a little better and stood, walking back into the trees to gather wood for a fire.

An hour or so later the sun had set, taking the heat with it, and I had a small fire going, the now steaming pike floating just over the flames. If I thought I was hungry before, I must have been starving now with the smell of cooked fish filling the space between the trees. Finally it looked done enough and I all but ripped it to shreds trying to eat it as fast as I could. The stick I had used to cook it was now charred a bit and still poked through the pike's back, but I didn't mind. I was too hungry to care if I got poked by a blunt stick. However, because I was too busy with the fish in front of me, I didn't notice the large shadow until it was directly across the fire from where I sat, and even then it wasn't until I heard a loud snort that I realized I wasn't alone with my dinner.

I looked up and saw a head bigger than mine gazing straight at me from two feet away. It belonged to a large three-eyed cow, and as I leaned to my left to get a better look at the rest of it, the strange cow cocked it head and leaned too, following me and blocking whatever view I would have had. As I sat back up I noticed that while its two bottom eyes were staring back into mine, the top eye was trained on my dinner, its thoughts clear as day.

" _Oh no, Bessy,_ " I said, leaning away, " _I worked too hard for this. If you want some fish, go back to the river. I'm sure there's plenty left._ "

The cow I had dubbed Bessy leaned forward with me, stretching its lips out to try and grab my food.

" _No! Bad cow! Mine!_ " I shouted, pulling the fish up over my shoulder and putting the end of the charred stick in the cow's mouth instead. " _Hah! That'll teach you to try and take my fish_."

My smug expression slipped off my face when Bessy pulled back, yanking the stick from the fish, stepped around the fire and laid down next to me, hooves tucked under its chest like a cat. Then while still staring at me with its wide-eyed expression, Bessy began to chew, sucking the stick nibble by nibble back into its mouth. Letting out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, I too went back to what was left of my dinner, choosing to ignore the blank stare Bessie kept directed at me.

I finished long before my newfound cow did and simply sat back to watch the flames. For the first time since I arrived here the night before, I felt I could actually relax. I knew falling asleep would be a bad idea - if a cow could come up to me when I was eating, there was no telling what could surprise me when I slept. Speaking of the cow, I felt it start lipping my muddied shirt. I turned around to look at it properly to find it still staring right at me from a foot away.

" _What?_ "

Bessy replied with a simple, quiet "moo" before starting to sniff and then eat my shirt. The message was clear: it was still hungry. Grudgingly I reached over into my almost nonexistent kindling pile and pulled out a larger stick than before, offering it to Bessy. Bessy just started at the stick then at me then back again as if deciding its next move before nipping the closest end of the stick and shoving the rest into the fire, almost snuffing out the tiny flames I had worked so hard to create. As I opened my mouth to protest though, Bessy withdrew the now burning stick and snorted on it to extinguish any flames. Then, almost lazily, Bessy began chewing its new piece of charcoal.

A moment of silence passed before the absurdity of what just happened hit me and soon I was curled up on my side, caught in a fit of giggles. When I had finished, I saw Bessy was as well and was now looking at me expectantly. Trying to hold back a new group of laughs I reached into my kindling pile and pulled out another stick, burning it thoroughly before handing it back to Bessy, who then put it out and ate it with the same strange wide-eyed face. We repeated the process until all the spare kindling was gone and I had fallen asleep between my new friend and our fire.

* * *

I woke to a mix of birdsong, snoring and a very heavy yet warm weight starting to crush me. When I opened my eyes, I found the weight and snoring were both coming from the cow that was currently lying half on top of me. Being as gentle as I could, I lifted Bessy up just enough to scoot out from under him (now that I could see past his head, I learned Bessy was a guy though I guessed it was too late to change his name) before setting him back down on the ground. Bessy twitched a bit in his sleep but other than that didn't wake up, leaving me to go searching for the stream and hopefully a not-so-cold bath. It had been over 24 hours since I had last cleaned myself and I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and wash the dried mud from my clothes.

Fortunately the stream wasn't that far away and I reached the bank in a few easy minutes. After checking my surroundings - I had learned my lesson of being snuck up on twice - I started to take off any clothing with mud on it. Once done I jumped into a deeper part of the stream and proceeded to rub off all the mud I could find. It took a while to finish, but it didn't feel like too long before I had all the clothes clean and drying in the grass, which left me with the task of washing myself. Bessy had woken up by now and stood sniffing my cloak before deciding it wasn't edible and trotting over to get a drink.

" _Bessy, can you keep watch for a moment? I'm going to go under._ "

"Moooo!"

I took his answer for a yes and dove under the surface running my claws through my hair as I went. The water had been surprisingly warm but I found now the sun had warmed only near the surface, so the further I dove the colder it became. Luckily, though, I didn't have to go all that far before I considered myself clean and rose back to the surface. Bessy had found a rock that hung over the water's edge and had stationed himself as lookout there. When I reemerged from the stream, he let out a soft snort and watched as I put my cloak and outerwear back on. Everything was still slightly damp, but it would be dry soon enough, especially if Bessy and I would be moving around.

Looking back, I found that Bessy had come up behind me and was now heading back into the wood, though in a different direction from where our fire had been last night. Since I didn't have any particular destination in mind, I decided to just let the cow choose our way and fell into step beside him.

* * *

Bessy and I continued our journey together for weeks. Neither one of us needed to eat or tired out much, so most of our days were spent walking side-by-side to wherever Bessy was headed. We came across a nasty demon now and again who was always intent on eating Bessy, but early on I dubbed myself the protector and food provider while I left the traveling direction and pacing up to Bessy. And luckily for us both all the demons we met weren't that strong, meaning I didn't need anything more than my basic instincts to win the fights.

For the most part, though, life was boring. We always traveled the same steady pace, usually for the entire day, then found a small cluster of trees to sleep under before rising at daybreak and starting again. One thing I began doing our second full day together was telling Bessy all about where I was from and how weird things were here. It had all started when I had gotten bored and ended up staring at Bessy until his top eye swiveled over to stare right back.

" _You know, Bessy, in my world cows only have two eyes_."

"Moo?" Bessy's answer was a low rumble, and honestly I wasn't sure if his answer was even a question. I took it as one though and had proceeded to tell him what I knew about cows from my world then farms and other farm animals, and so I migrated from topic to topic, not really paying attention to what I was saying and certainly ignoring the fact that Bessy didn't understand English even if he understood speech.

Which led us to today and my current lesson on photosynthesis and climate change. I did notice that as the morning went by Bessy seemed to be moving faster, cueing me in that we may be reaching our destination soon. Sure enough, I hadn't finished my lecture on trees turning oxygen into carbon dioxide when Bessy stopped altogether and sniffed the air before taking off to his left. I ran after him, catching up to him just as he broke through a line of trees and brush, and what I saw almost stopped me dead. The line of trees we just broke through was actually the edge of the forest itself for the land in front of us was nothing but rock and lava fields as far as the eye could see. Bessy didn't seem to mind, though, as he picked his way through the rocks to find the safest path. I figured since he hadn't led me wrong yet, I should keep trusting his sense of direction and so I followed behind, choosing to just follow his footsteps instead of picking my way beside him.

We made it around a large pile of boulders when I heard a voice. "Mo-mo, there you are. I was starting to think you had gotten lost. And who's your friend behind you?"


End file.
